“Sometimes you can want something too bad. It’s like squeezing a rubber ball too hard: after a while, you can’t feel it anymore.”
Today I only wrote twice. My goal is to write 3-5 times a day (less while I’m in classes, more when I’m doing research).
Yet rather than feel bad about it, I’m going to take three lessons from it:
One, I need to do something about this. Get up earlier, write entries beforehand, make a request for guest posts in case I’m caught up with commitments for school, family, and/or friends. As self-made millionaire and Success magazine editor Darren Hardy points out in his best-seller The Compound Effect, 99% isn’t good enough for a lasting commitment. 99% means that a flight headed to New York from Los Angeles would end up in Philadelphia. An obstetrician who does the right procedures 99% of the time would lose hundreds of helpless newborn lives each year. And we all know how we’d feel if our significant others were loyal with 99% of the people s/he knows.
Two, thanks to everyone who sent comments, letters, and emails regarding my question-and-answer post yesterday. Your letters were well-thought and heartfelt, and reminded me of what a truly awesome reader base I have. (How lucky am I?) I spent a good deal of time journaling and soul-searching today, and in my heart, yes, I still do really want to be a doctor, even though I may end up doing a lot of work outside of the clinical setting. So here’s to graduation in May 2013 
Three, sometimes you really do need to rest. As one of my favorite life philosophers and role models, Jim Rohn, says, “100% commitment sometimes means doing what you can, taking a rest, and then doing a little more.” It’s true. Sometimes you don’t have the strength to do an entire thirty minute workout in one sitting, but if you do ten minutes and rest, then another ten after work, and another ten a few hours before bed, you’ve made it. (And, for the record, studies have shown that the same time spent working out in spaced-out intervals is actually more effective in calorie-burning than spending the time all in one sitting).
In other words, sometimes you’re fatigued. And that’s OK, so long as you remain 100% committed to your goal, remember to spend at least some of your downtime in genuine gratitude + reflection, and start up again when you’re ready. Even though we live in a land of quick oatmeal, instant coffee, and Thirty Minute Meals, sometimes it’s wonderful to remember slow and steady does, in fact, win the race.
Photo source: Tortoise & Hare battle it out for banana, originally uploaded by wontoncruelty.
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